Blog

Disc Golf : Selling a complete line of discs, clothing & accessories

Have you heard of the sport of Disc Golf? This recent website development is geared to that market. Pure Disc Golf is a business created by, run by, and sport played by Andrew Rich. In his own words, "I always dreamed of running my own pro-shop, helping new players develop their skills, and fostering growth in the sport. "

Andrew came to me with his old website, that was using some sort of yahoo store template, that was in need of a whole new design and shopping cart system. Andrew has inventory stocked and ready to sell; Golf Discs, Branded Clothing, and disc golf accessories. I offered a shopping cart solution installed and set up ready for him to start selling, it even has live USPS shipping pricing. The cart is easily manageable by himself to add products and categories, create specials and coupons, create invoices, track sales via report,, add product images, cross sell related products, allow customers to give product reviews and personal accounts and more. Andrew can handle everything from a backend administration panel.

Along with his Disc Golf Shopping Cart Website he needed business cards and a nice twitter background to complete the branding package to restart his business with an online component. All work and designs were complete and delivered within 30 days.

Learn more about Andrew Rich
Visit Pure Disc Golf
Contact Andrew via his website

 

7 New Features in Google Analytics

Sent to me this morning:

Hello Google Analytics users,

Google recently added powerful new features to Google Analytics account. With these seven new features you’ll be able to get quicker insights, create deeper customizations, do more advanced analysis and track more mobile marketing!

Read on to learn more and then sign in to your account to try these features.

Analytics Intelligence with Custom Alerts
Using an algorithmic driven Intelligence engine, Analytics Intelligence monitors data patterns over daily, weekly and monthly periods. Significant changes in data trends and insights you may not have noticed are surfaced directly in your account. You can also create your own Custom Alerts that monitor your selection of dimensions and metrics that can be sent by email or displayed in the Intelligence reports.

Expanded Goals and New Engagement Goals
You can now track even more conversions by creating up to 20 goals per profile. Measure user engagement and branding success on your site with Time on Site and Pages per Visit goals. Set up your first Engagement goal in minutes.

Expanded Mobile Reporting
Google Analytics has expanded support for mobile websites and tracking for iPhone and Android mobile applications tracking. Adding server side code to your PHP, JSP, PERL, or ASPX mobile websites enables you to track non-Java-Script enabled phones. For mobile application developers, access the SDK and technical implementation details here. You’ll also be able to see breakout data on mobile devices and carriers in the new Mobile reports in the Visitors section.

Unique Visitors Metric
Include the Unique Visitors metric in your Custom Report or Advanced Segments to see how many actual visitors (unique cookies) visit your website. You can select Unique Visitors as a metric against any dimensions in Google Analytics.

Advanced Analysis Features
Dive deeper into your data with Pivoting, Secondary Dimensions, and Advanced Table Filtering. These combined features enable you to perform in-depth, on the fly data analysis within your account.

Share Advanced Segments and Custom Report Templates
Share the URL link for an Advanced Segment or Custom Report with anyone who has an Analytics account. Sharing the link will automatically import the pre-formatted template into the person’s account. Also available now is the ability to share or hide your Advanced Segments and Custom Reports by profile.

Multiple Custom Variables
Custom variables provide the power and flexibility to customize Google Analytics to collect the unique site usage data most important to your business. Define and track visitors according to visitor attributes (member vs. non-member), session attributes (signed in or signed out), and by page-level attributes (viewed Sports section). Use custom variables to classify any number of interactions and behaviors on your site. Start learning more about them now.

Sign in to your account to try the new features.

Happy analyzing,
Google Analytics Team

10 Golden Rules Of Affiliate Marketing


What is Affiliate Marketing:
Your Virtual Sales Force through embeded links with a tracking code.

4 types of Affiliates:
1)Search Engine Affiliates:
through SEO and or PPC
2)Traffic Affiliates:
high traffic on there sites
3)Email Affiliates:
Large email list. Send out an email on your behalf
4)Coupon Affiliates:
Promo Codes, Coupon Code

10 Golden Rules of Affililate marketing
1: Select a solution
a) sign-up with a network:
Means connecting an affiliate with a merchant through a 3rd party.
Great place to get started..you pay the network network pays the virtual staff
b)In house solution:
-No 3rd party
-Options to use – direct track or idevDirect
-No middle man, so you have to handle all questions, billing, tracking, etc.
2)Create an Affiliate Agreement:
-Legal document written in common english. Make it simple for them (affiliates) so they will sign up.
-Can Affiliates use your brand in marketing and other keywords. Yes or No? May end up competing in $$$ for clicks/ads
-No Spam Policy
3)Recruit Affiliates:
-Have a link on your website to your sign-up page or to the network your with.
-Use a network, they promote you in new/feature/seasonals
-check out abestweb
-Watch out for scams/scammers. Do manual approvals at first to see who is marketing for you.
4)Make great creatives
-Have a simple cut and paste link with all tracking already provided in the link
-Make it easy to find on the the networks. The networks offer EPC (earning per click) info.
-Make interactive creatives, using dynamic code that updates banners and links with current promos and deals
5)Be Accessible
-You have to be there for you vitrual sales force,
-Do it though; Email, blog, phone number, twitter, facebook, IM, in person, etc.
6) Full Time Program Managers
-In house or outsources
-all contact, recuiting, gathering creatives
-Don’t think this is an easy job that can be added to someone already in the office. This is a full time position that requires knowledge, skills, and should be a people person
7) Embrace the 90:10 Rule
-Meaning that 90% of your affiliate sales/revenue is brought in by 10% of your affiliate recruites
-These 10% should be offered special terms, special creatives, take the time to get to know them. You don’t want to lose them.
8) Communicate often
-Affiliates will often be part of 100’s of programs, keep your program on the top of there mind
-Reminders, go offline too, send a product, snail-mail, demo
9)Stay current
-Things change and new tec is always emerging. Keep up!
-Geekcast.fm for pod cast
abestweb. forum
blogs like ShoeMoney
Revnews
AffiliateTip.com
10)Pay Frequently, Fairly, and Most
Give your top performers (sale people) special deals, higher paid & faster etc.
They may spend $10,000 to make $12,000 so they need that capital back to keep the cycle going.
Don’t make them wait, cash flow is important

—–
Ideas to market:
Use custom landing pages
Make a video. You tube is #2 website in the world
Incenives like contest
News Letters
FaceBook Business Pages Get index by search engines

Basic and Advanced Creative Strategies for Pay Per Click (PPC)

From The Internet Marketing Club
Time: 40 mins with Q&A.
Presented at GoToWebinar.com

Overview Of Webinar:
1) Start with a Strategic plan, measurable objectives.
2) Do Competitive research
3) Use tools for your keywords (free online)
4) Plan your budget and bidding…prepared for flexible up or down
5) Plan a mix of media: Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc
6) Target: geographical with keywords and message
7) Jump in and start testing -it’s a real time, trial and error, process.
8 ) Track, report analyzed, and refine
———–
Do a test your self for PPC:
Do a Google search and think about where you would click.
In high ranking organic results 70% of users still prefer to click on left side, not the PPC on
right of search results
—————
5 Ideas for a winning strategy
1) Relevant/Target message, Copy/Keywords/ landing page
2) Use available real estate wisely (35 character limit)
3) Read their minds: Dynamic Keyword Insertion
4) The Margie Trick : Display URL
(Margie was giving the webinar)
5) Use ‘Eye Grabbers": Symbols & Numbers in your ad
———

Winning lay out using 5 Ideas above:
1)Keywords: i.e Tigers was the example give. Need to be specific. Tigers brought results to broad. You will be wasting your time and money
2) Use available Real Estate strive for 75% +  Aproximatley 33 characters in the ad
3){Keyword: Health Insurance Quotes} Appears in Bold
if exact match to user query
4)Display URL must go to the Landing. Make a custum Page URL, so it looks more relevant in the ad listing
**Tip—-you can remove the www. from the ad and give yourself 4 more characters
5) Use Symbols & Numbers (Google does NOT allow @ ~ | and other unusual)
—Although when using ‘Eye grabbers’ don’t let it become cryptic with to many
Example :
PLAYSTATION 120GB
Save up to 5% +
$9.99 Flat Shipping
GamingOnly.com/playstation120gb

Landing page success
Google reports about 50%-80% bounce rate for landing pages
Landing page relevancy to keywords and ads – Google Quality Score
Google Quality score now determines your minimum CPC, impressions and positions

What Works On the Page/Lander:
Focus the reader – i.e create a funnel (no extra navigation on the pages)
Add a UVP – Unique Value Proposition like an ebook download. Or the first chapter, a tool or article. Some sort of MUST have a call to action.
Testimonials about your product or service speaks volumes. Be sure to have a few of those on page
Offer more content upon conversion(give preview -directly related to UVP above )
A pic is worth 1000 words, but text is still important.
Fulfill the promise in the ad copy. NO Bait and Switch! Google will smack you down!
Relevant content on landing page will give a higher Quality Score and help your positions

Example Used:
eDiet.com home page is a great landing page.
They push the sale from the very home page
Search Google for: Adkins Diet…
The page created and owned by eDiet on the results pages takes you to a custom landing page.
Point being you can use a the home page, custom page or a inner page of the site.
Test and track to see which brought in more ROI..
What to test and track?
Keywords
Creatives
Offers
and landing pages
Cost per conversion
Track ROI with advance tracking using amounts.
**Final tip: Use Google Website Optimizer and dynamically test landing pages, offers, creative, etc. A/B testing. You will need some technical no-how to set it up. Once you have the understanding and it’s all set up it is well worth it.

Something New in the Works:

Margie also demo’ed that Google is offering something new..a beta + drop-down that will show products
images, prices and titles in the sidebar adds. It looked very good. To have products images right there in the sidebar ad. I would think those would help decide which web surfer/searchers are more serious about buying. I mean they can see some images without ever clicking through the ad to the lander. That saves you some $$$ on those that may just click through to see some type of product. Very cool new feature. No idea when it will be released…and I wish i captured a screen shot.

Testing with:
3 ads in an add group based on volume and Click-thru and conversion
Retire the ads that aren’t measuring up.

Google search network: Adwords
Also Google offers a Content network. (pick and choose which networks/websites) your ad will show up on. Getting more targeted placement on websites that YOU CHOOSE.
Nifty tool mentioned:
SpyFu: Spy on your online competitors. Download competitors keywords and adwords.

Another good webinar.

Thanks Jay at TenGoldenRules. Looking forward to the next on!

 

Twitter Webinar Recap

The Rock Stars of Twitter Webinar

This a a brife recap of what was discussed at the GoToWebinar about Twitter:
(hosted by Jay Berkowitz, Gail Goodwin-motivational speaker(InspireMeToday), Iconic88, Warren Whitlock wrote "twitter revolution"

Starting with a brief explanation of what Twitter is:
Twitter is an incredible news feed and Micro-blogging in 140 characters or less.

Then the panel moved into the outline of Good Twitter Tips:

1#How to build a following:
Follow those that are in the sidebar of people you like, chances are they will have similar interest.

2#Good basic profile
Good Head Shot, description/bio, and link, you only get one link.
Twitter is searchable from google so make it authentic, about you and use your link.

3#Follow a few people and listen before you speak.
Get a feel for what is going on in your "new tribe/community"

4# write some great tweets…why?
So people will get a feel for what your twitter stream will be filled with.
What is a great tweet? Answering a question, being of service, being positive.
You can find question by searching twiiter using the "?" Both to answer questions and to find answers to your questions, much like people are using google and yahoo.

5# Follow the Leaders – where are the leaders located?
Check out:
WeFollow.com WeFollow is a directory of Twitter users organized by interests.
TwitterGrader.com Twitter Grader : Measure the power and authority of your twitter profile (can check top twitters by geo-location)
 Twitteriti.com The World of Twitter and Microblogging "ideas to follow top 100 from here"
Technorati’s Real-time search for user-generated media (including weblogs) by tag or keyword. Also provides popularity indexes. Follow top 100. 
Then get in the converstation using the @ sign.  (you should have some tweets going alreay in your stream, nobody wants to follow a tweeter with no tweets!)

6# RT (ReTweet) with an @ sign
Sharing others information is siting the source, which can lead to others RT your tweets. Try  using only 100 characters to leave room for a comment by the ReTweeter.

7# Search.Twitter.com
The instantaneous search, Real time search results. Did you know Google recently offered Twitter a Billion Dollars to acquire it. Most likely for the search.

Tip interlude: Hash-tag # a way to create taging information around a common term.
i.e #iranelections or at Blogworld Convention #BWE09

8# Upgrade your profile
use a custom background that matches your site, personality, a new promo, specials, books you author, etc.
It doesn’t have to stay static.

9# Play with some twitter apps, like
tweetdeck, split tweet, seemic-desktop, peoplebrowsr
bit.ly (shorten a url, and track the named link…cool custom twitter link with stats!)
tweetlater (is now socialOomph) for autoposting/sechuled posts. It’s useful before events your going to attend. Set to go off 5 mins before the event starts.

10# Three E’s of Social Media
1) Educate – Help someone, answers a question, point them/link them in the right direction
2) Entertain – Be funny, link to videos, music, etc.
3) Engage –  use the @ sign and be involved in a converstation. Don’t let your twitter account, or any social account, stay dormant!
Also know as the the Two L’s :: Listen and Love


All in all it was a good webinar. I was refreshed on some things, learned some new things, gathered some great links, apps,  and resources… all shared above.
Happy twittering

-Brian

Ping.fm Do I need that too? Why?

Ping.fm is a simple and FREE service that makes updating your social networks a snap!
Is adding Ping to your arsenal of Online Social Media tools really needed? I mean you still have to log into each one of your social sites (or use a third party addon, or a mobile addon) to reply to the great newest bit of information you are sharing, right?  Yes, that does seem to be the case with Ping.fm

So why bother signing up if you have to open up all your social apps in new windows and tabs? For one really good reason, if for no other reason that this. You can login to your ping account and post a link back to your new product, service, special your running, event your holding, picture you just uploaded of you and your favorite celebrity, etc. and it hits all your other online accounts that you have connected to it. Bamb! One post and out to over 40 different sites*!  *if you have an account at all 40 sites they currently offer.

Ping does just what the name sounds like it does. For those in the know, pings in blogging are: an XML-RPC-based push mechanism by which a weblog notifies a server that its content has been updated. Source

So when you ping make sure you are doing so in way that requires little to no replys via the onslaught of social media outlets of which you are a memeber. Think of it as simply Link Dropping

Happy Pinging

Are you Paid To Blog? You need to Read This

Since so many people have come to rely on the Internet for much of their information gathering and looking for product reviews to base their buying decisions on the act of being paid to write a review, very much like the act of being paid to do a endorsement on television, now must be disclosed.

You see those those late night infomercials that have the very tiny print at the bottom of the screen claiming this is a paid advertisement. Bloggers who are giving paid testimonials need to do a MUCH better job of letting their readers know tPaid to Endorsehat they are being compensated for their endorsements of the products and services they are reviewing. The advertisiers are not off the hook all together. They need to make it known to the bloggers that a disclosure is required now.

Who dares claim this needs to happen? Well none other than the FTC.
Some noteworthy quotes:

"For bloggers, the FTC stopped short of specifying how they must disclose conflicts of interest. Rich Cleland, assistant director of the FTC’s advertising practices division, said the disclosure must be "clear and conspicuous," no matter what form it will take."

"To placate such fears, Cleland said the FTC will more likely go after an advertiser instead of a blogger for violations. The exception would be a blogger who runs a "substantial" operation that violates FTC rules and already received a warning, he said."

Start of article:

ap

FTC: Bloggers, testimonials need better disclosure

FTC: Bloggers must disclose freebies or payments; testimonials to reflect typical results

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday took steps to make product information and online reviews more accurate for consumers, regulating blogging for the first time and mandating that testimonials reflect typical results.


The FTC will require that writers on the Web clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products. The commission also said advertisers featuring testimonials that claim dramatic results cannot hide behind disclaimers that the results aren’t typical.

Go to the original article _

 

Google-certified (external ) ad networks in AdSense

An upcoming update in your AdSense account is designed to help you generate the maximum revenue from your ad units. You’ll soon be able to allow multiple ad networks to show on your pages, which means that advertisers from external Google-certified networks will be able to compete with AdWords advertisers for your ad space.

If you’re unfamiliar with what ad networks are, they’re companies that partner with advertisers and publishers to buy and sell ads on sites they don’t own themselves, similar to AdSense. Ads from these networks will compete with Google ads to show on publisher sites, and the ad generating the highest revenue for publishers will be displayed.

To ensure the quality of the ads appearing on your sites, we’re certifying all participating ad networks for adherence to our standards for user privacy, ad quality, and speed. You’ll also have control over which networks can show ads on your pages — you can choose to opt out of receiving ads from specific networks, or all networks completely. This means you can continue to show ads from only AdWords advertisers if you’d like.

Elegant Sports Jewelry

Have you every thought about how sports fans like to get all dressed up to support their favorit team before the the game. The wear Hats, jackets, scarves, big foam finger-thingys. Some fans, women fans in particular, like to show their spirit in a little bit of a different way….JEWLERY!
That is the concept behind one of my more recent projects, Elegant Sports Jewelry, that uses the Magento Shopping cart/cms platform. It was a new platform to me when I started, but I feel comfortable getting around under the hood. The user community is ok-to-good for support, mostly just users helping users, as the platform is completely open-source.
Elegant Sports Jewelry is all hand made by Michelle Reid. She has a passion for her work and it shows.  Dave Reid has been my main source of contact as we developed the site and have made updates. A pleasure to work with and a very understanding person with a sense of humor that is perfect working on tech-projects. You can also follow what Elegant Sports Jewelry is doing on FACEBOOK. Elegant Sports Jewelry’s main focus to start out with is geared toward the college Alumni, but over the past month they have started to add professional sports teams to there product line.
Next time you are looking for sports gear that shows a little more style and class than the Big-Foam-Finger-Thingy…point your browser over to ElegantSportsJewelry.com